Mount Fuji has long been considered a not only majestic, but also sacred mountain, and one thought worthy of worship. Deities are believed to reside within the volcano. These spirits must be pacified to keep Fujisan from anger and eruption, according to devotees. (Mount Fuji’s last eruption was September 16, 1707.)

Those designated at “Oshi” looked after worshipers known as Fujiko, who made worship ascents up the volcano. Oshi created lodging houses that helped to spread Fujisan devotion, residences that supported the Fujiko through shelter and food, as well through prayers, invocations and even via spells and divinations.

Decoration at the Togawa Oshi House

Eighty-six Oshi houses once dotted Mount Fuji’s foothills in the Kami-yoshida area. Today, there area about one dozen, the most famous of which is the Togawa Oshi House, built in 1768 in Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture. The house, built at the end of the Edo period, is said to be the oldest of the Oshi structures.

Dressing for the land of bliss

Togawa Oshi House is comprised of two buildings in the traditional Japanese style, with a total length of 140 meters. Everyday items used by the Fujiko are on display, including simple white religious clothing called Gyoi.

Gyoi - religious clothing used to climb Mount Fuji

The loose tunic and pants were worn for ascetic purposes, but also as a way to mimic the dead, clothed in identical garments. When climbing Fujisan, wearers sought to enter gokurakujodo, or the land of bliss. Ascents were a rite of rebirth, a cleansing initiation that signified a transition between realms of consciousness.

At the Togawa Oshi house, a path called Tatsumichi leads to an inner gate called Nakamon. Worshipers purified themselves in a nearby stream called Yana Gawa.

Interior, Togawa Oshi House

The Goshinzen room is the most significant in the house, a place where climbers prayed to the volcano’s deities. Oshi also gave spiritual lectures here on Mount Fuji religious practices.

A sculpture of Jikigyo-Miroku is found next to the Goshinzen. The climber perished between the mountain’s 7th and 8th stations during a fast in 1733. Many were inspired by him and subsequently joined the Fujiko religion.

Interior, Togawa Oshi House

Mount Fuji’s history of worship

Mount Fuji was once venerated from a respectful distance – its foothills. There, worshipers implored the gods to stave off eruptions. In the 9th century practitioners of the Shugendo religion ascended the mountain as part of a rigorous ascetic practice.

By the 17th century, this asceticism spread to the larger public as Mount Fuji became popularized as a pilgrimage site. Fujiko sprang up in the 18th century, and today, tourists from around the world climb the mountain from its 5th station (half-way up) in as little as five hours.

KEY WEST, Florida Keys - Dozens of contestants are to blow their own horns in Key West Saturday, March 2. The 51st annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest is expected to draw entrants ranging in age from toddlers to seniors, all testing their pucker power on fluted conch shell “horns.” They’ll take turns squawking, bleating or possibly even tootling something resembling music when the celebration of Key West’s cultural heritage begins at noon in the tropical garden of the Oldest House Museum, 322 Duval St.

Blowing into the pink-lined mollusk shells was a tradition even before the island’s settlement in the early 1800s. Natives from the Calusa tribe blew conch shells to communicate over distance, and early sailors are said to have used them as foghorns. Nineteenth-century shipwreck salvagers blew blasts to signal when a sinking ship was spotted.

Today, the chewy meat of the conch appears on local restaurant menus in chowder and fritters, two of the Florida Keys’ signature dishes. The shell itself has become a symbol of the Keys, often called the Conch Republic.

In the quirky “conch honk” contest, winners are chosen in multiple age groups for the quality, duration, loudness and novelty of the sounds they make. Musical ability is not required (or often displayed), though a few past “pucker pros” have produced portions of melodies ranging from “Flight of the Bumblebee” to rock classics.

Sponsored by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, the fun-filled competition is free to enter and watch. Contestants can register at the Oldest House from 10:30 a.m. to noon March 2 or at the event itself if space is still available. The competition runs from noon to 2 p.m. Those lacking their own “instruments” can purchase conch shells on site.

famtripper fun fact

Notre-Dame Crypte ArcheologiqueAt the far end of the parvis you can descend in the Crypte Archeologique. Here you’ll be able to see first hand the relics of an old Roman wharf, shops, houses and churches. There’s a lovely garden, which is located just outside. It's a great place to relax and watch the rollerbalders and people pass by.